EVANSTON, Ill. -
No. 3 Penn State continued a lengthy January road trip with a 38-3 win at No. 17 Northwestern on Friday night. The Nittany Lions got a key win out of the gates from true freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) at 125 and rolled to nine wins in ten bouts.

Megaludis, ranked No. 10 at 125, got Penn State off to a fast start, posting a convincing 7-3 win over No. 7 Levi Mele in the dual's opening bout. Sophomore Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) followed that up with a sound 10-4 win over Jameson Oster at 133 and the Nittany Lions quickly bolted out to a 6-0 lead. Junior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) was leading Colin Shober 4-2 at 141 in the second period when Shober was forced to take an injury default, giving Pearsall the win at the 3:18 mark and putting the Lions up 12-0.

No. 1 Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) then posted a dominating 10-0 major decision over Kaleb Friedley at 149. The All-American's major put Penn State up 16-0. In one of the dual's marquee match-ups, Nittany Lion freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) faced off against No. 3 Jason Welsh of Northwestern at 157. Alton gave the undefeated Wildcat all he could handle before dropping a 2-1 decision on riding time. Penn State led 16-3 at intermission.

Top-ranked David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) continued Penn State's roll with a 20-5 technical fall over Pierce Harger at 165. The All-American got the tech at the 7:00 mark with 4:45 in riding time. Second-ranked Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) then posted perhaps the night's most dominating win, posting an 18-3 technical fall over No. 9 Lee Munster at 174. The All-American got the tech at the 5:37 mark.

Penn State improves to 6-1 overall, 2-1 in the Big Ten with the win. Northwestern falls to 5-2, 1-2 in the conference. The Nittany Lions owned the takedown battle as well, posting a 22-4 advantage. Penn State notched 11 bonus points off an injury default, a pin, two tech falls and a major.

Penn State continues its Big Ten road swing at Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 15, at 2 p.m. (Eastern). Penn State's next home dual is on Sunday, Jan. 22, when Iowa invades Rec Hall for a 2 p.m. dual that is already sold out. The Nittany Lions then host Ohio State on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. Fans can purchase a limited number of `standing room only' tickets for the Ohio State dual by calling 814-865-5555. Tickets are priced at $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 and under) and can be purchased from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center box office. A maximum of four tickets may be purchased per person.

The full season slate of live dual meet and tournament action will air locally on WRSC AM (1390 AM) with Friday evening duals being simulcast on WRSC FM (103.1 FM). Lock Haven's WBPZ (1230 AM) will also carry the entire season live, WIEZ (670 AM) in Huntingdon/Lewistown carries all Sunday events and further affiliates may be added soon. The regular season schedule of radio broadcasts will be streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of Penn State's All-Access package, which will also feature live video streams of many home events. Ticket information is accessed easily online at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets/m-wrestl-tickets.html . Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstatepat and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2011-12 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

125: True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 10 at 125, met No. 7 Levi Mele in one of the dual's most anticipated match-ups. Mele gained control of Megaludis' head early but the Lion freshman worked out of trouble and shot low for a quick takedown attempt of his own. But Mele scrambled out of trouble twice and forced a stalemate at the 1:55 mark, still scoreless. Another low single by Megaludis off the reset gave the Lion a 2-1 lead at the 1:41 mark after a quick Mele escape. Megaludis got in on another low single with a quick shot off the reset, forcing a scramble in the center circle. But Mele once again forced a stalemate with Megaludis up 2-1 at the :32 mark. Megaludis forced Mele into a stall warning and then notched a takedown at the buzzer to lead 4-1 after one. Mele chose down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 4-2 deficit at the 1:36 mark. Nico used another low ankle pick for his third takedown off a reset and led 6-2 at the midway point of the second stanza. A Mele escape at the :52 mark cut into that lead, but Megaludis continued to connect on low singles. Mele forced a stalemate on a potentially dangerous hold and action resumed with Megaludis up 6-3 at the :27 mark. Megaludis chose down on the reset but Mele was able to ride the Lion freshman out to end the period. Megaludis chose down to start the third period and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 7-3 lead at the 1:38 mark. Mele got in on his first real scoring attempt off a reset at the 1:10 mark, but Megaludis was able to force a scramble that worked the clock down to the :30 mark before the reset. The Lion freshman then used a low double to force Mele into defense for the rest of the bout and the Lion posted the 7-3 win.

133: Sophomore Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) faced off against Wildcat Jameson Oster at 133. Martellotti notched the first takedown by using a single leg to pull Oster onto the mat, finishing off the move at the 2:19 mark. The Lion sophomore then put together a strong ride, maintaining control of Oster for over a minute while forcing the Wildcat into a first stall warning. Martellotti tried to turn Oster for back points, got caught and reversed as time wound down, then immediately reversed the Wildcat for his own two points and then nearly pinned him at the buzzer. The five point flurry gave him a 7-2 lead after one period. Martellotti chose down to start the second stanza but could not break free of a solid Oster ride. Oster worked off Martellotti's riding time advantage first and then finished off the ride out. Trailing 7-2, Oster chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 7-3 deficit at the 1:18 mark. The duo battled evenly until Martellotti gained control of Oster's body and tossed him to the mat for another takedown and, with the riding time point, notch a 10-4 win (Oster escaped late).

141: Junior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) went to battle at 141 against NU' Colin Shober. Shober had the first scoring chance of the bout but Pearsall was able to fight off the move and force a stalemate at the 1:59 mark. The tandem battled through the next minute-plus looking for an opening to score with each man's defense equal to the task. But Shober broke into the scoring column, rolling Pearsall to the mat for a takedown at the :23 mark to lead 2-0. Pearsall spun out of Shober's control at the buzzer and was awarded an escape to trail by one after the opening stanza. Pearsall chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. He then got in on a single leg, took Shober down and the Wildcat was unable to continue due to an injury. The injury default win for Pearsall came at the 3:18 mark.

149: No. 1 Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) put his undefeated record on the line against Northwestern's Kaleb Friedley at 149. Molinaro gained control of the match quickly with an early takedown, tacking on a solid ride to build up over 2:00 riding time while looking for a chance to turn the Wildcat to his back. Friedley was able to hold off on giving up any back points, but the ride out gave Molinaro a 2-0 lead with 2:15 in riding time after one. Molinaro chose down to start the second period and Friedley worked off a minute's worth of time before Molinaro rolled through Friedley's control for a reversal and a 4-0 lead at the :58 mark. The Nittany Lion All-American maintained control of the Wildcat for the rest of the period to lead 4-0 with 2:17 in riding time heading into the third period. Friedley chose down to start the third period but this time Molinaro was able to turn the Wildcat to his back for two near fall points and a 6-0 lead with 1:28 left to wrestle. The Lion senior then reset himself, turned Friedley to his back for three more back points and moved out to a 9-0 lead. Molinaro continued to dominate Friedley, riding the Wildcat out to post the 10-0 major with 4:17 in riding time. With the win, Molinaro moved to No. 17 on Penn State's all-time wins list (106) and 13th on its all-time dual meet victories list (48).

157: Red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 9 at 157, met No. 3 Jason Welsh, who carried a 13-0 mark into the bout, in another key bout. Alton quickly got in on a single leg and forced Welsh into a scramble that ended with a stalemate at the 2:10 mark. Alton countered a Welsh shot with 1:38 left, forcing a stalemate with the score still 0-0. The duo continued to scramble, trading quick shots for the next minute, with each man holding firm defensively. Scoreless after one period, Welsh chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Welsh looked to get in on a single leg at the :50 mark, but Alton was able to push the move aside, although he picked up a first stall warning in the process. Down 1-0, Alton chose down to start the third period. Welsh was able to control Alton long enough to build up a minute's worth of riding time. Alton then scrambled for a reversal but the Wildcat junior was able to maintain control of the Lion freshman until Alton escaped with just a second left. The brief 1-1 tie was short-lived as Welsh had 1:55 in riding time and got the hard fought 2-1 win.

165: No. 1 David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) looked to continue his unbeaten start to the season against Northwestern's Pierce Harger at 165. Harger notched the first takedown of the bout, taking a 2-0 lead at the 2:22 mark with a solid high double. Taylor quickly escaped and then used his low ankle pick to take a 3-2 lead at the 1:51 mark. The Lion All-American then controlled Harger for over a minute, looking to turn him to his back for near fall points. The Lion rode Harger out to lead 3-2 with 1:37 riding time after one period. Harger chose neutral to start the second period and Taylor quickly upped his lead to 7-3 with two takedowns (cutting Harger once in the process). Taylor cut Harger loose at the :54 mark, countered a Harger shot and took him down once more to lead 9-4 with :44 left. Another Taylor cut led to a late Taylor takedown with :06 left, giving the Lion sophomore an 11-5 lead after two periods. Taylor chose down to start the middle stanza and quickly reversed Harger to lead 13-5. He added three near fall points to up his lead to 16-5 with 1:18 left. A near cradle led to three more back points and a 19-5 lead with :47 on the clock. With the riding time point clinched, Taylor rode Harger out and got the 20-5 technical fall at the 7:00 mark with 4:45 in riding time.

174: No. 2 Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) also looked to remain unbeaten at 174 in a marquee match-up against No. 9 Lee Munster. Ruth took a quick 2-1 lead with a single leg to takedown and then nearly scored on another quick shot. Munster fought off Ruth's effort but the Lion All-American quickly took him down again at the 2:00 mark to lead 4-1. He then locked in on a cradle and picked up three near fall points to lead 7-1 with 1:30 on the clock. Two more back points gave Ruth a 9-1 lead before Munster escaped with :55 on the clock. Ruth tacked on yet another takedown with :20 left in the opening period and, with the ride out, led 11-2 after one period. Munster chose down to start the second stanza, but Ruth maintained control of the Wildcat freshman. Ruth cut Munster loose with :38 on the clock and quickly gained control of the Wildcat for another takedown in front of the Penn State bench. Ruth added two near fall points in the final seconds and carried a 15-3 lead with 3:17 riding time (clinching the point) after two. Ruth chose down to start the third period and fought off a quick Munster turn effort before escaping to a 16-3 lead. A final Ruth takedown gave the Lion a convincing 18-3 tech fall over the ninth-ranked Wildcat at the 5:37 mark.

184: No. 2 Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) met Marcus Shrewsbury at 184. The defending National Champion quickly took control of the bout with two early takedowns to lead 4-1 at the midway point of the opening period. Wright then turned Shrewsbury to his back for three near fall points and a 7-1 lead with :40 left in the first period. The All-American then turned Shrewsbury to his back, adjusted, and picked up the pin at the 2:41 mark.

197: True freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 12 at 197, met Wildcat senior John Schoen. The duo battled evenly for the first half of the opening period, with neither man finding an opening to score early. McIntosh countered a Schoen shot, moved behind the Wildcat and got the bout's first takedown at the :37 mark. A quick Schoen escaped halved the lead and action resumed in the center circle. Trailing by one, Schoen chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. Schoen broke the tie open with a takedown at the :40 mark, taking the 4-2 lead. McIntosh quickly escaped and trailed by one with :25 left in the middle period. McIntosh chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 4-4 tie. The duo continued to battle for position for the bulk of the third period. Schoen tried to score on a high double but the Lion true freshman was able to back out of trouble, keeping the bout tied 4-4 at the :22 mark. McIntosh scrambled off a Schoen shot, powered the NU senior to the mat and got the winning takedown at the :02 mark, posting the 6-4 win.

285: Senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 6 at heavyweight, took on No. 19 Mike McMullan. McMullan shot first, forcing Wade to counter and get a reset out of bounds. The duo then battled for position in the center circle. Wade shot low on McMullan but slipped to the mat, allowing the Wildcat to work around the Nittany Lion for a takedown and a 2-1 lead after a quick Wade escape. Wade chose top to start the second stanza, Wade turned him for two back points and McMullan escaped to a 3-3 tie, all before :20 had elapsed in the period. Wade turned a low single into a scramble and a takedown with :48 on the clock to take a 5-3 lead. The Lion senior then rode McMullan out to lead 5-3 after two periods. McMullan chose top to start the third period, looking for a chance to turn Wade. Wade got called for a stall warning at the :54 mark then escaped to a 6-3 lead with :30 left in the bout. A late scramble led to no scoring and Wade posted the 6-3 win.